Pre and post-COVID 19 infection pulmonary functions in children with chronic respiratory disease: A case series.

As functional respiratory impairment following COVID-19 infection (COVID-19) is increasingly reported in adult, data regarding children especially with pre-existing chronic respiratory disease (PCRD) remain scarce. We retrospectively assessed clinical presentation, duration of symptoms related to COVID-19 from paediatric patients with PCRD and compared their pre/post COVID-19-I spirometry values. Data from 12 patients were analysed.

Routine lung volume recruitment in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a randomised clinical trial.

Background: Impaired cough results in airway secretion retention, atelectasis and pneumonia in individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Lung volume recruitment (LVR) stacks breaths to inflate the lungs to greater volumes than spontaneous effort. LVR is recommended in DMD clinical care guidelines but is not well studied.

Inhaled Antibiotics for the Prevention of Respiratory Tract Infections in Children With a Tracheostomy.

To describe the use of prophylactic inhaled antibiotics in children with a tracheostomy and assess if its use is associated with a reduction in exposition to broad-spectrum antibiotics and a lower risk of acquired respiratory tract infections. A case series study was performed in a tertiary care university affiliated hospital. All consecutive children (<18 years old) with a tracheostomy, hospitalized between January 2004 and November 2016, and treated with prophylactic inhaled antibiotics were identified.

Minimal change in structural, functional and inflammatory markers of lung disease in newborn screened infants with cystic fibrosis at one year.

Background: With the widespread introduction of newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF), there has been considerable emphasis on the need to develop objective markers of lung health that can be used during infancy. We hypothesised that in a newborn screened (NBS) UK cohort, evidence of airway inflammation and infection at one year would be associated with adverse structural and functional outcomes at the same age.

Methods: Infants underwent lung function testing, chest CT scan and bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) at 1 year of age when clinically well.

Home high-flow nasal cannula as a treatment for severe tracheomalacia: A pediatric case report.

Tracheomalacia refers to a softness of the tracheal cartilage that makes the airway more susceptible to collapse. In contrast to milder cases where conservative therapy is preferred, severe tracheomalacia is often a life threatening condition requiring more aggressive management. For children with this condition, a variety of treatment options are available.

Evolution of lung function during the first year of life in newborn screened cystic fibrosis infants.

Rationale: Newborn screening (NBS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) allows early intervention. Design of randomised controlled trials (RCT) is currently impeded by uncertainty regarding evolution of lung function, an important trial end point in such infants.

Objective: To assess changes in pulmonary function during the first year of life in CF NBS infants.

Positive parental attitudes to participating in research involving newborn screened infants with CF.

Background: Information regarding recruitment of infants to research studies following the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) via newborn screening (NBS) is not currently available. This study aimed to assess parental attitudes and the feasibility of recruiting and retaining both NBS infants with CF and healthy control infants to a longitudinal, observational study.

Methods: All infants underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs) at ~3 and ~12months of age.

New reference equations to improve interpretation of infant lung function.

Rationale: With increasing use of infant pulmonary function tests (IPFTs) in both clinical and research studies, appropriate interpretation of results is essential.

Objectives: To investigate the potential bias associated with "normalising" IPF by expressing results as a ratio of body size and to develop reference ranges for tidal breathing parameters, passive respiratory mechanics (compliance [Crs] and resistance [Rrs]) and plethysmographic functional residual capacity (FRCp ) for white infants during the first 2 years of life.

Methods: IPFTs were measured using the Jaeger BabyBody system and standardized protocols.

Lung function is abnormal in 3-month-old infants with cystic fibrosis diagnosed by newborn screening.

Background: Long-term benefits of newborn screening (NBS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) have been established with respect to nutritional status, but effects on pulmonary health remain unclear.

Hypothesis: With early diagnosis and commencement of standardised treatment, lung function at ∼3 months of age is normal in NBS infants with CF.

Methods: Lung clearance index (LCI) and functional residual capacity (FRC) using multiple breath washout (MBW), plethysmographic (pleth) FRC and forced expirations from raised lung volumes were measured in 71 infants with CF (participants in the London CF Collaboration) and 54 contemporaneous healthy controls age ∼3 months.